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Royal Observatory Review

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Royal Observatory

Address: Romney Rd., Greenwich, SE10 9NF | Map It
Phone: 020/8858-4422
www.rog.nmm.ac.uk

Category: Observatories/Planetariums
Location: Greenwich

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Fodor's Review:

Since 1884, the ultimate standard for time around the world has been set here: Greenwich is on the prime meridian at 0° longitude. The honor was because of its importance as a site for study of the stars and of the passing of time. Since a redesign in 2007, the observatory has been split into two sites a short walk apart, one dedicated to the wonders of space, the other to mankind's cataloguing of moments.

Highlights

The recently opened south site, not previously accessible to the public, is the location of the enchanting Peter Harrison Planetarium,now London's only planetarium, its bronze-clad turret poking out of the ground like a crashed UFO. Shows on black holes and how to interpret the night sky entrance visitors. If you come with children, don't miss the high-technology rooms of the Astronomy Galleries,where cutting-edge touch screens and interactive programs give young explorers the chance to run their own space missions to Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons.

Across the way is Flamsteed House,designed by Christopher Wren in 1675 for John Flamsteed, the first Royal Astronomer. A climb to the top of the house reveals the 28-inch telescope,built in 1893 and now housed inside an onion-shape fiberglass dome. It doesn't compare with the range of modern telescopes, but it is the largest in the United Kingdom, and regular viewing evenings still reveal startling detailed views of the lunar surface. In the Time Galleries,linger over the superb workmanship of John Harrison's famous Maritime Clocks,H1-H4, which won him the Longitude Prize for solving the problem of accurate timekeeping at sea and greatly improved navigation.

Tips

A brass line laid among the cobblestones here marks the meridian, one side being the Eastern, one the Western hemisphere. As darkness falls, a funky green laser shoots out across London for several miles, following exactly the path of the meridian line.

The Time Ball atop Flamsteed House is one of the world's earliest time signals. Each day at 12:55, it rises halfway up its mast. At 12:58 it rises all the way to the top, and at 1 exactly, the ball falls.

The steep hill home to the observatory gives fantastic views across London, topped off with £1-a-slot telescopes to scour the skyline. Time a walk to catch the golden glow of late-afternoon sun on Canary Wharf Tower and head back into Greenwich via the rose garden behind Ranger's House.

Youngsters under five are not usually allowed into the auditorium. Tickets can be purchased ahead online.